By Neil Moore, Youth Fight for Jobs & Education
It is disgraceful that Adrianne Peltz of NUS-USI has welcomed the cuts to EMA proposed by Minister Farry today. That is a betrayal of the interests of the very people she is meant to represent. The leadership of NUS-USI has prevented any discussion on the issue within the students’ movement. They met with Ministers Farry and O’Dowd and proposed alternative cuts to EMA without any mandate. We call on them to immediately withdraw their support for the cuts and instead join with us to build a fightback to defend EMA. Otherwise, they will be left behind.”
Youth Fight for Jobs & Education are organising meetings across Northern Ireland in Belfast, Enniskillen & Derry to bring students together and discuss how to resist these cuts. This is not the first time the Assembly politicians have moved to cut EMA. A campaign of protests and occupations which began in December 2010 and united Protestant and Catholic young people forced them to back down. If we stand together in determined opposition, we can do the same again!